Spring Bud Scholarship Program, Shaanxi Province:
Students in Hua Ping Village Primary School
Some 28,000 girls in the province of Shaanxi are unable to go to school, and most who do attend are forced to drop out after the third grade. Three conditions are largely responsible for this situation: school fees, the long distances that many students must travel from home to class, and the traditional belief that a formal education for girls is a low priority.
Boat ride to go home
The Spring Bud program was started by the All-China Women's Federation to provide education for girls in the most poverty-stricken areas of the country. Its objective is to eliminate illiteracy among girls by providing nine years of compulsory education.In 1994, the program was introduced in Shaanxi Province, with an initial goal of keeping girls in school through at least the sixth grade.
Happy faces greeting their sponsors.
Currently, the Dragon Fund, through the Spring Bud program, is providing financial support for 1,000 girls to attend school from the fourth through the sixth grades (from 2001 to 2004) in the An Kang and Shan Luo districts of Shaanxi.
Long walk home
The scholarship students come from families with an average per capita income of not more than US$60 per year. Day students account for 60 percent of the recipients, while boarding students from outlying areas make up 40 percent. Many of the girls who now board were once walking five miles or more over mountainous terrain before dawn to reach school in time for classes. Some of them had to carry firewood on their backs to use for cooking their lunches.
Students and their beloved homeroom teacher
In June 2004, these 1,000 Spring Bud students will graduate from primary school. To continue our support, we are now raising scholarship funds to cover the costs of their attendance for three years of middle school.
Gift of drawings and friendship from America
Some of the students will qualify to attend key middle schools where higher academic standards are required. These students will have a better chance to continue their education beyond middle school into high school and university. We hope that many of them will eventually take on leadership roles in the fields of education and public service in their communities. The average cost of a scholarship is US$90 per year for each of the 1,000 students. Our goal is to send 200 boarding students to key middle schools, and an additional 400 boarding and 400 day students to neighboring middle schools. Shaanxi Women's Federation will continue to assist us in monitoring the progress of each student.
Welcome salute to sponsors
To support our project now, please fill out this form, or contact us for more details. Thank you!

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